Michael Ryan, PhD

Dr. J. Michael Ryan is an Assistant Professor of Sociology. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Maryland (United States of America) in 2013. Dr. Ryan was previously a researcher for the TRANSRIGHTS Project at The University of Lisbon (Portugal) and has taught courses at The American University in Cairo (Egypt), Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) (Ecuador) and the University of Maryland. Before returning to academia, Dr. Ryan worked as a research methodologist at the National Center for Health Statistics (which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Ryan is the author (with Serena Nanda) of COVID-19: Social inequalities and human possibilities (2022). He is the editor of multiple volumes including COVID-19: Global pandemic, societal responses, ideological solutions (2021), COVID-19: Social consequences and cultural adaptations (2021), Trans Lives in a Global(-izing) World: Rights, identities, and politics (2020), and Essential Concepts in Sociology (2018), and is co-editor of multiple volumes including Gender in the Middle East and North Africa: Contemporary Issues and Challenges (with Helen Rizzo, 2020), The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory (with Bryan Turner et. al., 2018), The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Consumption and Consumer Studies (with Daniel T. Cook, 2015), and The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology (with George Ritzer, 2011). He has also served as advisory editor on The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Dr. Ryan’s research interests lie primarily within the areas of social scientific responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, trans identity (especially in relation to survey research), and genders and sexualities. His dissertation was an investigation into how to improve survey measurement among sexual minorities, with a particular emphasis on trans respondents. His subsequent work has examined various facets of trans lives and comparative analyses of global socio-legal frameworks for the recognition of trans identities, among other topics. His work has appeared in the Journal of Gender Studies, the Journal of Language and Sexuality, the LGBTQ Policy Journal, and Social Thought & Research, among others. Dr. Ryan’s current research projects include examining national responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic, changing religious influences on Americans’ attitudes toward same-sex sexual relations and civil liberties for sexual minorities, and a theoretical exploration of the contemporary meanings of the sexed and gendered aspects of personhood in an increasingly globalizing world.